Confusion (album)
Confusion | ||||
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Studio album by Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa 70 | ||||
Released | 1975 | |||
Recorded | 1974 | |||
Genre | Afrobeat | |||
Length | 25:36 | |||
Label | EMI | |||
Producer | Fela Ransome-Kuti | |||
Fela Kuti chronology | ||||
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Confusion is a 1975
Confusion is a one-song Afrobeat album that begins with an entirely
Background
After becoming dissatisfied with studying European composers at the Trinity College of Music in London, Fela Kuti formed his first band Koola Lobitos in 1961 and quickly became a popular act in the local club scene. He returned to his native Nigeria in 1963 and formed another band that played a rhythmic fusion of traditional highlife music and jazz. Kuti dubbed his hybrid style "Afrobeat", which served in part as his critique of African performers who he felt had forsaken their native musical roots for American popular music trends. In 1969, he toured with his band in Los Angeles and was introduced by a friend to the writings of black nationalist and Afrocentrist figures such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver. Inspired by what he had read, Kuti decided to write more political and critical music, and changed the name of his band to the Nigeria 70 and later the Africa 70.[1]
During the 1970s, Kuti began to emphasize his identification with Africa and its culture in his music and opposed the colonial mentality of identification with Western powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom. His albums during this period expressed aspects of his ideology such as his African heritage and nationalism. On his 1973 song "Eko lie", Kuti declared that the Nigerian city of Lagos was his home rather than London or New York City, where he had performed earlier in his career.[2] Lagos and its landmark events became common themes in his songs.[3] He revisited the theme on Confusion in 1974 to acknowledge that he identifies with the city despite its problems.[4]
Musical style
Confusion is a one-song album with a duration of 25 minutes and 36 seconds.[5] The album's first side is entirely instrumental.[6] It begins with a free-form introduction, which musically depicts the disorienting impact of Lagos' problems, according to music scholar Frank Thurmond Fairfax.[7] Although Kuti occasionally used amplified instruments, he rarely employed elaborate electronic effects and instead relied on more natural sounds.[4] Kuti, who plays electric piano, and drummer Tony Allen start the introduction out of tempo and exhibit abstract musical techniques, including dramatic free jazz interplay between their instruments.[8] Although he was known for his critical background in classical study, Kuti allowed Allen to improvise in the Africa 70's rhythm section and viewed him as a drummer with the mind of a composer, or "one who composes on the spot".[9]
The introduction's keyboard
Themes
Confusion is a commentary on the confused state of post-colonial, urban Nigeria, particularly Lagos, and its lack of infrastructure and proper leadership during a period of military dictatorship.[16] Kuti's lyrics depict the complicated, frenetic, and multilingual market of the Ojuelegba crossroad, and in doing so addresses what Nigerian historian Toyin Falola described as the "infrastructural nightmare of Lagos and the continued hegemony of the West in all aspects of African life".[17] According to The Rough Guide to World Music (2006), the album uses a "hectic crossroads in Lagos ... as a metaphor to explore the problems of an entire corrupt nation".[18]
In the opening lines, Kuti comments on his social reality: "When we talk say confusion / Everything out of control".[19] His lyrics decry what he viewed as the colonial mindset of some Africans and employ pidgin English, which was the lingua franca of most people in English-speaking West Africa; he sings the phrase "pafuka", which means "all over" or "finished", and the interjection "o" to add emphasis.[20] Kuti makes reference to three dialects and currencies that make trading in urban Nigeria difficult.[16] African Arts journalist E.J. Collins interpreted one of the verses as a reference to the protracted nature of transactions in Lagos.[21] In this verse, Kuti sings:
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Kuti uses ironic humor to express pride in Nigerians' ability to drive and work within difficult conditions: "Before-before Lagos traffic na special, eh / Number one special all over the world / You go get
Release and reception
Confusion was first released in Nigeria in 1975 by
In 2000,
In 2005, Confusion was ranked 91st on New Nation's list of "Top 100 Best Albums by Black Artists".[30] In his 2008 book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, music journalist Tom Moon wrote that it is both one of Kuti's best albums and "a demonstration of just how rousing Afro-Beat's deftly interlocked rhythms can be."[31] In 2010, the album was bundled again with Gentleman by Knitting Factory Records as a part of the label's extensive reissue of Kuti's 45-album discography. Michaelangelo Matos of Paste magazine gave it a score of "9.3/10" and cited it as the essential release in the discography: "an oasis in a sandpaper-like catalog."[10]
Track listing
All songs were arranged, composed, and produced by Fela Ransome-Kuti.[32]
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- The album was released as a single track on its subsequent CD reissue.[11]
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[32]
- James Abayomi – sticks
- Tony Allen – lead drums, solo drums
- Africa 70 – band
- Lekan Animashaun – baritone saxophone
- George Mark Bruce – bass guitar
- Segun Edo – tenor guitar
- Henry Kofi – first conga
- Daniel Koranteg – second conga
- Tony Njoku – trumpet
- Emmanuel Odenusi – engineering, mixing
- Isaac Olaleye – maracas
- Remi Olowookere – graphics
- Fela Ransome-Kuti – arrangement, tenor saxophone, piano, production, vocals
- Tutu Shoronmu – rhythm guitar
See also
References
- ^ Dougan n.d.
- ^ Fairfax 1993, p. 248.
- ^ Olaniyan 2004, p. 92.
- ^ a b c Fairfax 1993, p. 249.
- ^ Greenberg n.d.; Christgau 2000
- ^ Falola & Salm 2005, p. 329.
- ^ Christgau 2000; Fairfax 1993, p. 249
- ^ Fairfax 1993, p. 249; Samuelson n.d.
- ^ Smith 2000.
- ^ a b Matos 2010.
- ^ a b c May 2010.
- ^ Shapiro 2009, p. 99; Moon 2008, p. 436.
- ^ Samuelson n.d.; Christgau 2000
- ^ a b Shapiro 2009, p. 99.
- ^ a b Brunner 2000.
- ^ a b c d Samuelson n.d.
- ^ a b Falola & Salm 2005, p. 328.
- ^ Broughton, Ellingham & Lusk 2006, p. 302.
- ^ Ambrose 2001, p. 26.
- ^ Moon 2008, p. 436; Fairfax 1993, pp. 223, 433
- ^ Collins 1977, p. 60.
- ^ a b Fairfax 1993, p. 251.
- ^ Veal 2000, p. 296.
- ^ Anon. 1984, p. 47.
- ^ Harcourt 2005, p. 13.
- ^ Brunner 2000; Smith 2000
- ^ Anon. 2001, p. 76.
- ^ Christgau 2000.
- ^ Christgau 2001.
- ^ Anon. 2005.
- ^ Moon 2008, p. 436.
- ^ a b Anon. 1975.
Bibliography
- Ambrose, Robert (2001). "Confusion and Courage". The Beat. 20. Los Angeles.
- Anon. (1975). Confusion (gatefold LP). Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa 70. Nigeria: EMI Records. NEMI (LP) 004.
- Anon. (1984). "Afro Hot 20". Blues & Soul (419). Croydon.
- Anon. (2001). "Review: Confusion/Gentleman". Down Beat(April). Elmhurst.
- Anon. (2005). "Top 100 Best Albums by Black Artists". New Nation. London.
- Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; Lusk, Jon (2006). The Rough Guide to World Music: Africa & Middle East (3rd ed.). ISBN 1843535513.
- Brunner, Rob (2 June 2000). "Confusion/Gentleman and Stalemate/Fear Not for Man Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 543. New York. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Christgau, Robert (2000). "Shuffering and Shmiling". The Village Voice. No. 20 June. New York. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Christgau, Robert (2001). "Pazz & Jop 2000: Dean's List". The Village Voice. No. February. New York. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Collins, E.J. (January 1977). "Post-War Popular Band Music in West Africa". JSTOR 3335303.
- Dougan, John (n.d.). "Fela Kuti". Rovi Corporation. Archived from the originalon 1 December 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Fairfax, Frank Thurmond (1993). Fela, the Afrobeat King: Popular Music and Cultural Revitalization in West Africa. OCLC 713128918.
- ISBN 0890895589.
- Greenberg, Adam (n.d.). "Gentleman/Confusion – Fela Kuti, Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa '70 : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ISBN 1570614377.
- May, Chris (2010). "Part 8 – Knitting Factory rolls out Fela Kuti reissue program (continued)". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Matos, Michaelangelo (2010). "Fela Kuti: Knitting Factory Reissues". Paste (16 February). Decatur. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Moon, Tom (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. ISBN 978-0761153856.
- Olaniyan, Tejumola (2004). Arrest the Music!: Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics. ISBN 0253110343.
- Samuelson, Sam (n.d.). "Confusion – Fela Kuti : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ISBN 978-1844674275.
- Smith, Derrick A. (2000). "Tony Allen: Black Voices". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- Veal, Michael E. (2000). Fela:The Life & Times of an African Musical Icon. ISBN 1566397650.
External links
- Confusion at Discogs (list of releases)
- Confusion / Gentleman at Discogs (list of releases)